Posts tagged ‘Tuscany’

As the year is winding down, clients are beginning to think about next summer’s holiday. I admit that I am biased, but I can promise, a visit to Italy would not disappoint anyone in the family. So many opportunities present themselves that the only problem is narrowing down the itinerary. Rome has enough to take in, that one could never go too frequently. Tuscany, whose heart is Florence is much the same way….just more easily accessible rural options. A favorite being the medieval hill town of Siena where many of the buildings and art works date from about 1260-1348 when Siena was one of Europe’s wealthiest cities. Highlights are the unusual fan-shaped piazza where the palio horse race is run twice in the summer and its magnificent Gothic duomo. Lucca is my favorite walled city, west of Florence and we have just added a lovely 3 bedroom rental apartment right in the historic center, ask me about it (invitationtotuscany.com). Then there is Veneto..with Venice as the crown jewel, Piedmonte, the Lake District, on and on.

Though the area and the wine known as Chianti is much beloved by the modern traveler, this is a land that has been producing for centuries. Il Casolare is one of the ancient farm buildings that, like Topsy, just grew, and grew until it became the sprawling farmhouse whose contours extend long and jut up and outward. Its present owners took it in gentle hand and with a joyful sense of color and generous hospitality have transformed it into three large houses, all under the same roof, but individual in style and each with its own view of the ancient landscape that surrounds it.

Country living in these houses is not rustic. The owners have preserved the terracotta floors and chestnut beamed ceilings and let an ancient layout rule the day, yet they have successfully mixed the antique furniture with bold warm colors, attractive fabrics and all the good-quality appliances a modern cook would want. Continue below to learn more about the property.

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When I read this article I thought of one of our properties. Perched high in the Apuan Alps, above Camaiore and Pietrasanta, Argentone looks out over stunning views of the Mediterranean sea, all the way to Corsica. It is set in a fold above the village of S.Anna di Stazzema, a famous centre of Partisan resistance during the second world war, the story recently told in a film by Spike Lee.

LUCCA — When it feels like the popular Tuscan destinations are more crowded with English speakers than Italian, it’s time to head to Lucca. Nestled in the foothills of the Apennines, only a short detour from the tourist magnets of Pisa and Florence, Lucca is an authentic, immersive Tuscan experience.

The historic center of the city is surrounded by the original, intact, Renaissance-era defensive walls. Enter from Porta Santa Maria, the northern gate to the old city, and you arrive in a bustling piazza with cafes and a few bike shops. If you want wheels, it is best to rent a bike. It is almost impossible to get around by car within the walls, as car traffic is prohibited on most streets for all but residents.

Unusually for Invitation to Tuscany, a sailing boat. But this is no normal sailing boat; it is a Swan 57, considered by many to be the Rolls Royce of yachts. Large enough for comfort yet fast enough for Regattas, this is a beautifully crafted vessel, built in the Nautor ShipYard in 1978 from a Sparkman & Stephens blueprint. Owned by a very good friend of ours, these vessels are rarely up for charter and are a delight to spend time on. Leave from Marina di Scarlino, in southern Tuscany, and navigate round the Mediterranean Isles, Corsica, Sardinia and the smaller islands. With an expert skipper on board you can participate in the sailing or lay back and sip your Campari as the mood takes you.

I have been working with Chef Andrew Garrett to organize this amazing travel opportunity, so Iwanted to share it with you. He would like you to join him in Italy for a once-in-a-lifetime journey and culinary adventure. See the details below and let us know if we can add you to this culinary journey…

“Our culinary adventure will begin in the city of Florence, the birth place of the Italian Renaissance, and then continue into the picturesque, cypress-clad Tuscan countryside. We will visit the surrounding sights and towns and enjoy the locally grown, lovingly prepared food and wine of the region.”– Chef Garrett

A charming apartment and pool in the countryside near Arezzo Italy

In the countryside just outside Arezzo, Villa delle Rose offers in miniature the reasons visitors include this part of Tuscany in their wanderings. For like the medieval city a mere 3 km away, known for its antiquarian market, the famous frescoes of Piero della Francesca, and the wide piazzas and ancient archways that grace its historic centre, this charming villa combines the traditional look of a respectfully restored limonaia, or lemon house, with the contemporary design and furnishings perfectly in keeping with the Aretine love of artistry and decor.

The charm of the villa is seen even as you approach it – its golden stone facade is covered with the pink roses that give the villa its name and the furnished ivy covered pergola set on the wide terracotta terrace surrounding the house is the ideal place for gazing out to the green hills it overlooks. It is sufficiently set apart from the owner’s large villa whose flagstone piazza it shares that it enjoys a sense of protected peace.